Charlie Daniels lays it on the line

Country singer and 'folk philosopher' Charlie Daniels has some cogent thoughts about the current election and the state of our nation.

Any conversation about what is wrong in America usually starts and ends with scathing criticism of the men and women we send to the National and State Capitols to represent us and handle the business of running our nation. And while it's true that a wide river of guilt as deep as a horse's bridle flows out of Washington, DC and the various and sundry centers of political power around this nation, can we take a deep breath, pause and consider a much overlooked but pertinent fact?

A nation's greatness is not reckoned by the caliber of its politicians, but conversely the greatness of its politicians is reckoned by the caliber of its people.  Politicians are a reflection of the people who put them in office, the end product of our needs, our desires, our greed, our selfishness, our ever-increasing permissive attitude toward society, our willingness to tolerate issues and policies we know are detrimental to the nation as long as it doesn't effect us directly.

. . .

This nation does and will only exist by the belief and devotion of its people, many of whom seem to have lost sight of what America really is.

There's more at the link.  Recommended reading.

Mr. Daniels is, of course, writing from the perspective of his Christian faith - which, being a retired pastor, I endorse.  In fact, I submit that a large part of the problem in America today is not that people have abandoned their faith in God, but that they've adopted too many false gods - money, sex, power, status, possessions, ideology - in whom they have faith, abandoning the One who is - or should be - central.  One could take that further.  As G. K. Chesterton once said:

Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war, or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.

He also said:

When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws.

Hmmm . . . "big laws" = the Ten Commandments, perhaps?  And "small laws" = the pettifogging, bureaucratic regulations that are strangling the life out of our economy and society?

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Peter